Things Not Seen
by Lady Helios
Summary: After landing in a mid 20th century hospital, the Voyagers discover that a dangerous, untested drug has been cleared for marketing in the United States and must prevent this before it devastates more lives than it already has.
1. Chapter 1

The room became completely silent when the industrial door closed. A breeze from the outside offset the hot, dry air and the scent of linen and aldehyde. Some lint dust danced in the bit of sunshine that streamed through the basement window. The stillness was erry, almost palatable, until it was broken by two figures climbing out of a laundry bin.

"Can you believe this, Bogg?" the younger Voyager laughed. "An actual soft landing!"

"Yeah, that doesn't happen very often, does it?" Bogg replied cheerfully. "Imagine getting dropped into this bin just as it was being wheeled in here. Now, let's find out where "here" is." He flipped open his Omni. "Washington DC, November 30 1960. And it's a red light. Any thoughts, kid?"

Jeff shook his head. "Nope, doesn't a ring a bell. And Bogg,..." he glanced at the over sized machines, rows of white uniforms and the sterile packages that lined the shelves. "Far be it from me to complain about a soft landing, but we're obviously in a hospital or an institution of some kind. I hope that laundry was clean."

"Hmmm..." Bogg's expression sobered a bit. "I see your point kid, but we can't worry about that now and we're not going to find out anything down here. Let's go upstairs and start looking around."

"Put one of these on,'' Jeff suggested pointing to a rack of lab coats. "That way people won't ask too many questions."

Jeffery was right. They were in what looked like a hospital emergency department. The Voyagers came up from the stairwell and the door open into a hallway. There was a room full of patients at the end of the hall and a busy nurse was moving among them.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as they walked towards the room. Then a shaky, ashen faced young woman staggered out of the ladies' room and made her way to a vacant wheelchair, leaning against the wall for support.

"Are you all right, ma'am?" Jeff asked, visibly concerned as he assisted her. "Can we get anything for you? A drink of water maybe?"

"No, the last thing I need right now is anything in my stomach," the woman replied, hazel green eyes looking up from her sandy bangs. "But thank you anyway. You're very kind."

"You're welcome, ma'am. My name's Jeffery Jones and this is..."

"Jeffery ..." the woman mused. "What a nice name."

Bogg, who had been standing off to the side smiled during this dialogue, touched by the boy's compassion. Unfortunately, this feeling was apparently not shared by a frazzled looking nurse who had just come from the waiting room.

"Young man, what are you doing?" she asked Jeff, perhaps more sharply than she intended. Jeff looked up with surprise, uncertain how to respond. He didn't need to, however. Bogg stepped forward and he cleared his throat.

"A doctor, finally!" the nurse exclaimed with relief turning her attention to the patient and apparently forgetting about Jeff. "Doctor this is Mrs. Sarah White..."

 _Mrs…. bat's breath!_ Bogg thought with a smirk, noticing the woman was rather attractive and approximately his age.

"She's suffering from extreme morning sickness..." the nurse continued

"Like it stops at noon!" Mrs. White quipped.

The nurse smiled at her sympathically and said, "Now that the doctor's here, I'll give you some Kevadon."

Suddenly Jeff's dark eyes snapped open with alarm and he shook his head wildly.

"No!" Bogg said abruptly, seeing Jeff's reaction.

" _No?"_ the nurse repeated in disbelief. "but doctor, Kevadon is the safest, most effective treatment we have for morning sickness!"

The boy continued to shake his head wildly and staggered backwards down the hall.

"Oh Jeff, you're having a seizure!" Bogg exclaimed, picking Jeff up and laying him on a near by gurney.

"I know what's happening now," Jeff whispered, as the older Voyager took his pulse and peered into his fear dilated eyes.

"Doctor, what about our patient?" the nurse asked, with an irritated note in her voice.

"Yes, where can I take him?" Bogg demanded, not looking up.

"The examination room's the door on your left. But doctor, what about Mrs. White?"

"Get someone else to help you with her!" Bogg ordered as he wheeled Jeff into the room. The nurse gave an exasperated shrug and walked away as the door closed behind them.

"What's going on, kid?" Bogg asked, unbuttoning his lab coat and helping Jeff sit up.

"Kevadon was the trade name for thalidomide," explained Jeff."

"Thali- what?"

"Thalidomide was drug used to treat morning sickness in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It was considered absolutely safe, but it actually caused terrible birth defects. The children were born with their arms and legs seriously deformed, or missing completely, and a lot of them died even before they were born."

"Seriously?" Bogg exclaimed. "That's horrible!"

"Yeah," Jeff continued, "but the United States was spared almost completely from the disaster because a scientist with a lot of guts kept the drug from being licensed here."

"Then I guess we better find this scientist," Bogg concluded. "Who was he?"

" _ **She,"**_ Jeff corrected, amused at Bogg's surprised expression.

A/N: Like it so far? The conclusion is about 2/3 finish, but I could really use a beta reader to bounce ideas off. Anyone interested?


	2. Chapter 2

The Voyagers sat in a near by park together, under some decades old trees having just slipped out of the hospital. The chilled fall air carried with it the scent of fresh cut grass and a hint of rain, a most welcome change from the hot dry the laundry room and the stark antiseptic emergency room.

"Tell me about this doctor we're looking for kid," Bogg asked.

"Frances Kelsey was her name, Frances Oldham Kelsey to be exact," Jeff began. "She was born and raised in British Columbia, Canada and went to college in Montreal. Then she went to the University of Chicago where she got her PhD in pharmacology and her M.D. then took a job as a drug reviewer here in Washington DC where she could use both degrees. That's how she was in a position to reject the thalidomide licensing application."

"Smart lady," Bogg commented as Jeff nodded in agreement. "Is there any thing you can think of that might have keep her from getting the drug reviewer job?"

Jeff thought about this for a minute. "Yes!" His dark eyes lit up with a sudden eureka moment. "I've got it Bogg! I understand now!"

 **February 16 1935**

 **Montreal Quebec**

A tall woman in her early twenties ambled into the cafeteria of the science building with an envelop in her hand. Her brows were slightly furled, her lips tightly pressed together and she repeated tucked her short brown hair behind her ears with her free hand. Something was clearly troubling her, but if it was the cold stares she was getting, she gave no indication of that. A male student jostled her without an apology, knocking the envelop out of her hand. A shocked buzz around the area but she stoically ignored it as she picked up the envelop. She glanced the menu options, possibly to cover up her embarrassment. Then a heated discussion near the back of the room caught her attention.

"You'd even consider giving up this opportunity? Smoking bat's breath, Jeff what are you thinking?" A young man snapped at a boy.

"But you don't understand, Uncle Phin," the boy objected. "I _want_ to take history at summer school, but they won't let me!"

"Who are _they_ and what do you mean they won't let you?" Phineas dropped his angry tone and now sounded concerned.

"My friends won't talk to me anymore," Jeff said with a downcast look. They think I'm stupid for wanting to study instead of doing normal summer stuff like swimming and baseball. And my teachers and every other adult except you and my parents all say I'm too smart to study history and not advanced math or something like that."

"Oh, now I understand," Phineas acknowledged. "You know what's right for you, but people have different ideas and you're under pressure from all sides to conform to their expectations."

"That's it exactly," Jeff admitted. "I feel like I'm forced into a mold and it's awful. In fact… oh hello." He looked up suddenly, taking notice the young woman who had drifted over to their table. "Are we in your seat?"

"No, there's no assigned seating here," she replied. "Anyone can sit anywhere they want to."

"In that case," Bogg said politely getting to his feet. "You're welcome to join us, Miss…?"

"Oldham, Frances Oldham. And thank you, I'd like that. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but your conservation struck close to home for me."

"Are you a student here, Miss Oldham?" Jeff asked after the routine introductions.

"Yes, I'm about to graduate with a Masters in pharmacology and," she looked down briefly, "I was just offered a research assistant position at the University of Chicago, with support to earn my PhD."

"Well congratulations!" Jeff exclaimed. "You're going, aren't you?"

"Well…," Frances waived. "I really want to, but I have some concerns. I'm reminded constantly that I'd be taking the job away from a man, during this Depression no less."

"This _is_ a terrible time to be out of work," Bogg pointed out. "You need to support yourself too, and you won't have been offered this position if you weren't well qualified."

"You know what? That's my most serious concern. Dr. Geiling, the pharmacologist I'd be working under is very conservative in his views about woman scientists. As a matter of fact, my job offer begins "Dear _Mr._ Oldham". He obviously doesn't know that Frances with an E is a female name. Right after lunch, I'm going to send him this letter explaining that."

"Why would you do that?" Bogg asked. "All you have to do is put the word Miss in brackets when you sign your acceptance letter."

"That's what my professor advised too," she replied with surprise. "This was the professor who suggested I write to Dr. Geiling asking for the job. But I just can't help thinking it seems dishonest. I doubt I would have gotten this offer if my name were Elizabeth or Mary Jane."

"I just know that a lot of people are going to be very glad that it isn't," Jeff told her confidently.

"Jeff's right, people obviously have a lot of faith in you, and your research can save lives," Phineas said emphatically. "and because there are so few women in this field, you could bring a unique perspective. As for your concern about honesty, you never gave this Dr. Geiling a misleading impression, did you?"

"No, it was his mistake, not mine."

"I'll do the right thing and study history this summer," Jeff proposed, "if you'll do the right thing and take the job."

Frances smiled broadly and offered him a firm handshake. "Yes, Jeff that's what we'll do. I'll always stick to my guns, and you do the same. Please excuse me for running off this, but I'd like to get my acceptance letter off without delay. Thank you both very much for reminding me of what's important. I won't forget this."

"You're welcome and best of luck," Phineas said as both Voyagers got to their feet to say good bye.

"Oh one more thing," she added, handing Jeff the letter that would have lead to the offer being withdrawn. "Tear this up for me." Of course Jeff did, with a big smile on his face.

"Green light, Bogg. We did it," he announced, flipping open the Omni as soon as she left. "We made sure that she's going to Chicago and when she gets her PhD, she'll join the facility where she meets her husband, Dr. Ellis Kelsey. Later she'll earn a medical degree, become a dual citizen, and the rest as we know is history."

 **August 7, 1962**

 **W** **ashington, DC**

The hot summer air was beginning to cool and the setting sun painted shades of pink and gold across the sky. The Voyagers watched a small group of people gather outside a television shop catching glimpses of the prime time news. On the screen they saw a well dressed, middle aged woman approach President Kennedy, who shook her hand and placed a medal around her neck.

"The President's Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service," explained Jeff. "It's one of the highest awards a civilian can get, and just one of many that she got. She… Dr. Kelsey," he corrected himself, "was under constant, intense pressure from the drug company to license thalidomide in America, especially before the holidays. That's when drug companies make most of their money. But she stuck to her guns the whole time. Not only was the U.S saved from thalidomide, but she helped strengthen the Food and Drug Act that brought in strict drug safety laws. Nobody ever assumed again that any drug was absolutely safe."

"Well, it's great that we helped here, kid," Bogg said, with a half forced smile, "but I think it's a shame we couldn't have prevented that everywhere."

"I know," Jeff agreed. "It's really sad that it had to happen but still, good came out of it. Besides the new drug safety laws, pregnant women all over that world got really careful about what they put into their bodies, even it was something natural like an herbal supplement. More lives were saved in every generation than anyone will ever know ."

"I guess you're right, Jeff, as usual," Phineas told him, cheering up noticeably. "Not to be insensitive to victims, but it doesn't seem quite so bad in the grand scheme of things."

"Excuse me, do I know you?" asked a voice beside them. A sandy haired woman with hazel green eyes was pushing a baby carriage. "I could be mistaken, but you both look familiar. My name's Sarah White."

"Nice to meet you, Mrs. White," Bogg said. "I'm Phineas Bogg, this is Jeffery Jones."

"Jeffery!" she exclaimed lowering the carriage hood to reveal a sleeping baby, about a year old. "This is my son Jeffery Francis, spelled with an I. We middle named him after Dr. Frances Kelsey. I was very ill with morning sickness while I was pregnant with him and..." She shuttered before continuing. "Dr. Kelsey's the reason he has all four limbs. I have no idea what made me think of the name Jeffery though. It just came to me out of the blue and I loved it. So did my husband.

The two Voyagers were touched beyond words as they looked down at Jeff's tiny namesake. It was small things like this made their job truly worthwhile.

If you like to know about Dr. Frances Oldham Kelsey or thalidomide, take a voyage with your nearest computer. It's all online.


End file.
